Mankind has always needed entertainment. With the advent of digital technology, computer games have become especially popular, because they can be a real immersion in a new world.
If we abstract away from the problems of the modern world, we can see that the major developers of computer games have multimillion-dollar annual revenues, which sometimes exceed the income from the creation of high-budget films.
This business was born out of the development of technology only at the end of the twentieth century, and so today has many prospects. But the novice developer will have a long time to make his way to the stars through the thorns.
Video game development involves two companies – a developer and a publisher. The developer is the company that directly creates the game, tests it, brings it to life, in general, completely focused on the technical component, there is an option when the project, especially a startup joins the contractor and provides development services for startups.
It is the publisher who promotes the game, sells it, demonstrates it, and determines what should be in the game and what should not. The game creators themselves are comparable to people in the creative professions; their impulse is to create something ambitious, grandiose, and superior to anything seen before. The publisher is a calculating realist who pays for the development and wants not just to get his money back but also to make money on sales
1. Start
So, to start a similar activity, you need to register as a business entity, services for publishing computer games.
2. Team
2.1. Programmer. A person who is involved in writing code, creating the engine, and other programming. The programming staff can include many positions to write individual game parameters.
2.2. Game Designer. His work is not designed in the usual sense of the word, but rather directing; he finds the perfect balance of all the components of the game.
2.3. Artist. Creates the appearance of all the characters and the game as a whole. Separate a specialist in textures and 3D models.
2.4. Animator. Engaged in the development of character movement, and should be able to create animation for non-existent creatures. He also works in the motion capture studio, if there is one.
2.5. Musician. Called to create not only original compositions for filling but also to pick up all kinds of ambient sounds and in general the whole “sounding” part of the game.
2.6. Screenwriter. Writes not just any script, but one that can be interactive and multi-variant. Works closely with the designer, constantly discussing with him or her revisions and changes to the script as needed.
2.7. Tester. In the early stages of the project, they become employees themselves. At the later stages, a beta test of the game is thrown out, which may be free for the company, because fans start testing the game, if, of course, they find people who have shown interest in the project even at the stage of its development. But there must also be special people on the staff itself who constantly check the quality of all the elements.
3. Creation
The simplest games are created in 2-3 months, complex projects take a couple of years, although the game industry knew and so-called long-build, which were developed for almost ten years. Only a very rare company can survive without sales for so long, and only if it is constantly invested. Excessive delay in the process affects the quality, because technology is moving forward every day, and what was an innovation today, is already used material tomorrow.
However, in recent times, even if the game has not reached its peak, but still slowed it down, because modern technology meets the aesthetic preferences of most buyers, and for them in the first place is not a beautiful wrapper in the form of ultra-graphics, and qualitative content – the so-called “gameplay”. From this we can conclude that more than a year to drag on with one project is not worth it, during this time, potential players may switch their attention to competitors’ projects. Only hits or sequels of the already acclaimed series will be awaited.
4. Costs
This is how to calculate the team needed to create the game for the entire term and allocate a budget. Directly on the game itself, you can spend 2 thousand and 200 million, and both projects may be viable. The main expenses are incurred to rent an office, pay the staff, utilities (the most serious expenses are high-speed Internet and electricity), and ordering third-party content. Nowadays, few developers create everything themselves, even game engines are bought, not to mention typical textures, sounds, and other content.
This business is characterized by the fact that if you don’t manage to recoup the project in the first few months, it is unlikely that it will ever pay for itself. The top-selling game in the gaming industry was able to recoup nearly three times the money spent on its development in the first 24 hours after its release. All in all, this kind of business has prospects, but they will only open up to geniuses or people who know how to offer quality products.
